Saudi Arabia-backed sports fund weighs investing in World Athletics, sources say
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Saudi Arabian athletes taking part in the floating parade on the River Seine, during the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – A Saudi Arabia-backed sports fund is considering investing in a new body that World Athletics may potentially set up to manage the sport’s commercial rights, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Athletics’ global governing body has been considering the formation of a new company to manage rights and bring in cash from a new investor, the sources added.
It has reportedly held talks with SURJ Sports Investment, a unit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), about potentially buying a stake in the entity.
One of the people said a deal could value the business at £500 million (S$859.8 million).
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, cautioned that discussions are ongoing but may not lead to a transaction.
A spokesperson for World Athletics confirmed in a statement it has had approaches and discussions with organisations and financial institutions interested in partnering, but declined to comment on SURJ’s interest.
“We are delighted to be in this position, even if not all discussions end in a partnership. Where partnerships are agreed, we announce them,” the spokesperson said. SURJ declined to comment.
Athletics is the latest sport to draw the interest of Saudi Arabia-backed entities, after investments in the likes of football, Formula One, tennis, golf and boxing.
SURJ said in February it had bought a minority stake in sports streaming platform Dazn. It also considered investing in a new cycling league as well as a new boxing league in 2024, but deals have yet to materialise.
Funds raised through a deal would help World Athletics accelerate the commercial side of the sport, including setting up new events, marketing and distributing more cash to stakeholders, the people said.
World Athletics is under pressure to innovate as outsiders look for a piece of the pie.
Former Olympic 200m and 400m champion Michael Johnson is planning a new professional track competition, Grand Slam Track, to host four “Slams” a year from April.
Britain’s Olympic multiple gold medallist distance runner Mo Farah has put his name behind another new series of races called RunGP, with events held on Formula One race circuits, starting in Doha in May.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has regularly said his sport needs to work hard to “stay relevant” for the next generation of fans.
He set out plans in 2024 to hold a new competition called the World Athletics Ultimate Championship every two years, beginning in 2026 with a record prize pot of US$10 million (S$13.3 million), to add to the competition calendar.
The sport was also the first to offer prize money at the Olympics, with Paris 2024 gold medallists banking US$50,000 each.
Meanwhile, World Athletics has also added the indoor 4x400 metres mixed relay to the rule book as an official discipline, it said on March 5, ahead of its indoor championships debut in 2026.
A crowd favourite thanks to its unpredictable nature, the outdoor version of the event made its Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2021 and since then has produced some memorable moments for track and field.
Organisers will hope to replicate that popularity in the indoor format, as the World Athletics Council confirmed the indoor world record standard of 3:12.44 in the announcement.
The designated running order for the relays will be man, woman, man, woman. REUTERS